The present invention generally relates to the art of layout and typesetting and more particularly, to a computerized method and system of layout and typesetting.
In newspapers and magazines, the process for typesetting for building up a page from texts, headlines, photographs, and the like, generally includes the steps of:
(1) determining a layout; and PA1 (2) typesetting. PA1 grouping together materials that are to be laid out on a type area of a page according to an article theme so as to define a plurality of theme families wherein each of these theme families contains a plurality of articles that share a common theme, and such that each of said articles contains a plurality of materials; PA1 classifying said plurality of articles into a variable article type wherein the materials belonging thereto have variable sizes and locations on said type area from issue to issue in a publication, and to a fixed article type wherein the materials belonging thereto have a fixed size and location on said type area from issue to issue, said step of classifying said articles comprising a step of adding an identifier to each of said plurality of articles for identifying whether said article is of a variable article type or of a fixed article type; PA1 assigning a theme rank to each of said theme families; PA1 assigning an article rank to each of said articles; PA1 adding information, in each of said articles of said variable article type, to each of the materials that belong to said article, for specifying the size of the materials that are to be laid out on the type area and further for specifying the theme rank and the article rank of the article to which said materials belong to; PA1 storing said materials into a file together with said information; PA1 laying out said materials based upon said information added thereto by reading out said materials from said file so as to determine page layout, said step of laying out being conducted based upon said information while referring to a knowledge base that stores rules of layout; and PA1 typesetting a page based upon said page layout to create a typeset, said step of typesetting being conducted while referring to a knowledge base that stores rules of typesetting; PA1 said step of laying out said materials including a step of modifying said page layout based upon a result of said step of typesetting. PA1 information preset means for grouping together materials that are to be laid out on a type area of a page according to the theme of each article so as to define a plurality of theme families such that each of said theme families contains a plurality of articles that share a common theme, and such that each of said articles contains a plurality of materials. The above information preset means also has a function of classifying said plurality of articles into either a variable article type, wherein the materials belonging thereto have variable size and location on said type area in from issue to issue, or a fixed article type, wherein the materials belonging thereto have fixed size and location on said type area within each issue, by adding an identifier to each of said plurality of articles, for identifying whether said article is a variable article type or a fixed article type, the information preset means further assigning a theme rank to each of said theme families, assigning an article rank to each of said articles, and adding information, in each of said articles of said variable article type, to each of the materials that belong to said article, for specifying the size of the materials that are to be laid out on the type area and for further specifying the theme rank and the article rank of the article to which said materials belong to; PA1 preview layout means for laying out said materials based upon said information added thereto by reading out said materials from said file to determine a page layout, said preview layout means conducting layout based upon said information while referring to a knowledge base that stores rules of layout; PA1 layout modification means supplied with said preview layout from said preview layout means for modifying the same to produce a page layout; PA1 command generating means for generating commands for carrying out typesetting based upon said page layout; PA1 typesetting means supplied with said commands from said command generating means for creating a typeset; and PA1 feedback means for feeding back said typeset to said layout modification means as a page layout.
In the example of publishing a newspaper, the step of layout is achieved by an expert specialized in the art of layout, while the step of typesetting is conducted by another expert of the production division. There, the step of layout has not yet been computerized, while the step of typesetting is achieved by using a computer system wherein the operator places each material in a predetermined location based upon a given layout by using commands. Because of this, there has been a problem in that it takes about 20 minutes for determining the layout and another 20 minutes for typesetting.
In the process of layout, the personnel is required to have ample experience for laying out materials such as vertical and lateral highlightings, headings and sub-headings, texts and photographs, so that a reader can recognize the important materials at a glance. The layout thus decided is in the form of a sketch of a page and is handed over to the personnel of the production division. There, the personnel at the production division sets up a typeset for printing by using a computerized typesetting system that requires complicated commands for operation. Thereby, it has been necessary to dedicate considerable time and expense for obtaining an expert in the art of layout and production.
Thus, there is a substantial demand for a fully computerized publishing system wherein the step of layout can be conducted by inexperienced personnel based upon information stored in a knowledge base, and wherein the step of typesetting is achieved automatically by issuing appropriate commands based upon the determined layout.